Home » News » The Aragonese soprano María Eugenia Boix, in a historical concert at the Royal Palace

The Aragonese soprano María Eugenia Boix, in a historical concert at the Royal Palace

“If a stringed instrument does not sound, it is deaf.” It is an old adage that runs through the world of classical music but for whose certainty there is no scientific proof. In any case, the most valuable instruments in Spain, The Stradivarius of the Royal Collections, they do sound. With them concerts are offered every two months in winter and then rest in summer. One of those concerts, exceptional due to the setting, the performers and the circumstances (it was held without an audience during the pandemic), can be seen from today on YouTube thanks to National Heritage. The so-called ‘Cello 1700’ from the Royal Collections.

The event had Aragonese presence, that of Montisonense soprano María Eugenia Boix, and to some extent also the by cellist Guillermo Turina, born in Madrid but who studied in Zaragoza and regularly collaborates with local musicians and groups. With them, harpsichordist Eva del Campo.

“When this concert was proposed to me,” says Turina, “I wanted to set up a program that would take us to the Madrid Court, where these instruments were heard for the first time. Probably some of the pieces we performed were heard in the same room and with the same instrument. at the end of the 18th century “. Works by composers such as Literes or Zayas were performed along with others such as the cantatas’ ¿Who will be able ?, by José de Torres, or ‘When in the East’, by Giacomo Facco, in which the cello and voice have an intimate dialogue.

The Aragonese soprano María Eugenia Boix, in her vocal and artistic fullness, shines with her own light in the concert, encompassed in the documentary ‘Stradivarius 1700. A real dream’, which premieres today on YouTube. Boix has lived an intense 2020, with a tight schedule of performances but in which he has had to suspend projects that excited him. And others are in danger: in May he would have to go to London with La Grand Chapelle. Meanwhile, he has taken the opportunity to open a school in Monzón and “bring singing to the kids.” It has nine students between the ages of 8 and 14.

“The concert was going to be held with an audience limited by the pandemic, but in the end it was done without him. Singing on a stage like the Column Hall of the Royal Palace it is something exceptional because mentally it takes you back to other centuries. And it is even more so to do it with an instrument that you normally only see in a glass case. “The soprano says she greatly enjoyed the experience of singing along with the ‘Stradivarius 1700′” for its quality and warmth. “” It is a cello with harmonics. incredible, with a tremendous projection, with a very rich sound. His fame is deserved. “

The experience for Turina was even greater. The ‘Stradivarius 1700’ is rarely used in concerts, and National Heritage wanted to take advantage of this to record the recital in its entirety and also turn it into a documentary, the first it has produced so far.

“This instrument, like the rest of the stradivarius of the Royal Collections – says Lorena Robredo, curator of musical instruments of the National Heritage – is reviewed by a luthier before and after each concert and then everyone receives uAn in-depth review each year from a New York Stradivarius specialist“.

“When you touch it, you are a little worried inside about doing it well and not causing it any harm,” Turina emphasizes. “But the precautions that are taken are very rigorous. I was able to rehearse with him the day of the concert and the day before, always under the supervision of two specialists from National Heritage. It is one of the five best cellos in the world of that time. It has asVery enveloping sound and works very well in all ranges. It is wonderfully balanced. The good thing about having recorded the concert is that its warmth is going to be enjoyed by everyone “.

The concert-documentary, directed by American Noah Shaye, can be seen from today on Youtube.

Throughout his career, Antonio Stradivari made more than 1,000 string instruments, of which around 650 have survived in perfect condition. The ‘undecorated’ cello that was used for the concert last October is part of the set of instruments acquired in 1772 at the initiative of Carlos III to expand the endowment of the Royal Chamber of the future Carlos IV.

The Italian luthier himself used to decorate with his own hands some of the pieces commissioned by relevant personalities: he made inlays in ivory on the covers and filled the pegboxes with figures. From those ‘Decorated’ instruments (that’s what they are called) 11 are known around the world. “And four of them make up the Madrid Palatine Quartet – says the conservative Lorena Robredo, from the National Heritage -. Among them, in addition, there is the only ‘decorated’ cello that is known, so we Spaniards should be proud of this group, which is unique in the world. ” Originally the quartet was a quintet, but two violas were ‘lost’ during the War of Independence, and only one of them was recovered much later, in 1951.

To these four instruments we must add another, an ‘undecorated’ cello, which is the one used in the October concert. It is called ‘from 1700’.

“These pieces are given exquisite care because we are very aware of their heritage, historical and musical value – underlines Lorena Robredo -. We try that the weather conditions do not deviate much from a range between 20-24 degrees Celsius for the temperature, and that the relative humidity is constant and moves around 50%. The latter, in Madrid with such a dry climate, is almost impossible. But the instruments are adapted to this climate because they have never left here, so in the end this is your ‘comfortable’ climate. ”

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